After five years of construction, the Nghi Son oil refinery and petrochemical plant in Thanh Hoa province officially began its commercial operation on December 23. The project is expected to help ensure national energy security, while providing momentum for growth in the north-central region.

With an investment of more than 9 billion USD, the Nghi Son oil refinery and petrochemical plant is among Vietnam’s largest projects in terms of investment capital. In the first phase, the project’s capacity is estimated at 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, doubling that of the Dung Quat oil refinery in Quang Ngai province. The project is expected to attract enterprises to invest in Thanh Hoa, especially in the Nghi Son Economic Zone. It is also believed to stimulate growth in numerous sectors, including services, seaports, hospitality, education and healthcare. Crude oil input in 2018 in the Nghi Son oil refinery plant amounted to 4 million tonnes with 3 million tonnes of output products in 12 different categories, meeting requirements for domestic use and export. The plant is expected to contribute from 900 million USD to 1.3 billion USD to the provincial budget in the coming years.-VNA